A Black rising star lost his elite orchestra job. He won’t go quietly.

Josh Jones thought the Kansas City Symphony dismissed him unjustly — and took his complaints public. Supporters say he’s exposing an antiquated system that thwarts promising young talent.

Josh Jones wasn’t expecting to lose his dream job that day. He had heard some grumbling during his time as the principal percussionist with the Kansas City Symphony, but everyone agreed that he was a stunning performer — not to mention the first Black musician in the orchestra’s history to land a leadership position. In his first season, his marimba solo in a Vivaldi performance prompted the maestro himself to send a handwritten note: “I am so happy to make music with you,” Michael Stern wrote, “and there’s no doubt everybody onstage agrees.”

But two years later, Stern had called Jones in to inform him of his deficiencies, particularly his organizational skills overseeing a tiny section made up of one other full-timer and a rotating cast of substitute players.

“Josh, there’s a problem,” Stern told him, according to the symphony’s transcript of the meeting. “It’s not working in the section. It’s frustrating to me because I wanted it to work.

Read the Full Washington post article here